Joaquin Phoenix is going to try something he hasn't done before: playing the lead in a Woody Allen movie!

With MAGIC IN THE MOONLIGHT starring Emma Stone and Colin Firth set for release this July, Woody Allen is getting his next feature together, and he's found his leading man. Sometimes-crazy, sometimes-mega-talented Joaquin Phoenix has signed on to appear in the 78-year-old director's next, which will begin shooting around the same time MOONLIGHT is set to debut (directors, see how freeing it is when you transcend doing press for your movie?).

As per the course with the Woody Allen projects, we know nothing about the movie other than Phoenix's involvement, but the actor's presence follows suit in Allen's ability to land top-notch talent for his films. Phoenix hit a slump with his stunt-doc I'M STILL HERE, and came back bigger and badder than ever in THE MASTER (my favorite performance of that year) and last year's HER. Still he's never won an Oscar (although he's had three nominations), so we'll see if working with Allen does for him what it did for Cate Blanchett, Dianne Wiest, Michael Caine, Penelope Cruz, and Mira Sorvino.

One last thought: why does acting normal enough for a Woody Allen movie seem like it could be Phoenix's greatest acting challenge to date?

Woody Allen's latest shoots in July, so we can expect him to follow his one-a-year course and get this one out sometime in 2015.